I know it's not Thursday but I've been busy as fuck this week and totally forgot to make a TTT post. A good song about 2 of my favorite treats: Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Quote of the Week 2
'The greatest pleasure in life
is doing what people say you cannot do'
-Walter Bagehot
Cans Festival with Banksy et al -Pope Marilyn Monroe
Sound Tossing - 'Electronic Tools for Sonic Interventions in Urban Space'
A few nights ago I did a post on Yarnstormers, now I'm finding this blog of Sound Tossers. It can't get any better than this. Yet another medium artists are using to fuck with the system. Big respect for being the first to take street art to a sonic level.
Check it out:
The following is taken directly from their blog:
Sound Tossing is an alternative type of electronic street art dedicated to activist, artist and protesters. It is the practice of throwing or hanging audio devices (Sound Tossing Tools) up to overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. While Sound Tossing Tools are hanging from overhead wires they generate sounds for subversive urban communication.
First Sound Tossing was reported in November 2010 in Istanbul.
Sound Tossing Vienna from Reinhard Gupfinger on Vimeo.
Sound Tossing from Reinhard Gupfinger on Vimeo.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Your Name in Lights
My name is going up in lights on Wednesday 26 Jan 9:16:40 PM, Australian Eastern Daylight time. It's nothing to do with fame, just registered my name on this website as part of a massive art project:
"Iconic American conceptual artist John Baldessari is looking for people, who want their name in lights, but just for 15 glittering seconds.
Your Name in Lights reflects the changing cult of celebrity in modern society and recalls Andy Warhol's prediction that in the future everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. Drawing on imagery from Broadway theatre displays and Hollywood films, this ambitious new work will involve more than 100,000 participants.
Register your name and watch it appear in lights on the Australian Museum’s William Street façade.
If you want to join, it's free : http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011/Visual-Arts/Your-Name-In-Lights-Registration
Dan Eldon
"What is the difference between exploring and being lost?"
Dan Eldon was an English photo journalist who was stoned to death in 1993 at the young age of 22 by an angry mob in Somalia. When I started getting serious about visual arts, Dan Eldon was my first inspiration. I was introduced to his work in my third year of high school by my incredibly talented visual arts teacher. He used to tell me, 'Never fall in love with a dead man' as I'd obsessively leaf through Dan Eldon's pages during our lunch break. I ended up writing it on the side of my sketchbook as a reminder that art stems from obsession. My life motto, 'The Journey is the Destination' is from Dan Eldon. He kept a journal throughout his fascinating life with collages and writings about his travels and experiences. Through his raw pages you you step into the vagabond life of a beautiful women, reckless youth, and intriguing culture. Eldon combines my passions for travel, photography, adventure, and nature into bounded visual masterpieces.
Check out of Dan Eldon's work: http://www.daneldon.org/site/
Here are some pages from Eldon's Journal:
Here are two of my own Dan Eldon inspired pieces from high school:
Honestly I didn't really like these two pieces. I just ripped out some pictures from a National Geographic and used different media to create a collage but I find it superficial because I didn't really have an emotional connection with the statement I was trying to make. But I guess when you're pressed for a deadline and dealing with the wonderful trials and tribulations of the teenage years, shitting out masterpieces tends to be a struggle.
Portrait of an Island
Last December I went to the Philippines. Here are some pictures I took of one of my favorite islands in the world, my own best-kept-secret: Siquijor Island. A Turkish neighbor of mine once said, 'When you go to Siquijor, it's as if time stops.' It's one of those things that you have to experience yourselves to understand. It also happens to be known as the 'witch island' of the Philippines but that's a whole other post. You'll notice themes of a strong Roman Catholic influence which is especially prominent in the rural areas of the Philippines, save the Muslim areas.
Sari-Sari Store Within
Mother Mary Cried
Wilted Orchid
Pray for Us
Crucifix
Island Grazing
Long Walks on the Beach with God
Three is Company
Coral Puzzle
Tropical Holly Flower
Shell on Bamboo
He Was Crucified
Lumbar Embrace
Phallic Rock
Mt. Talinis (Highest Peak of Siquijor)
Where 'Stray' Animals Don't Exist
Kite Flier
Friday, January 21, 2011
Yarnstormers
Just discovered this crazy crew of knit street artists. Why I love them:
1) They are female. Represent.
2) They are original. Knit street art? Hell yess. This epitomizes what I love about street art: it's constantly pushing the box; growing and expanding in terms of medium and ideas. When you can make a hobby like knitting bad-ass and fun, you've done well.
3) Their work is light-hearted, fun, and taps into the inner child in all of us in a twisted way; reminding us that the world is our playground. When someone passes by one of these knits, it cultivates their imagination which is so necessary in a world where we're bombarded with thousands of marketing messages a day whether we like it or not.
Please check out their work: http://knitthecity.com
"Nutcracker Knitmare Before Christmas"
"the Phonebox Cosy"
"Plunder of Pirates"
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Shepard Fairey - Obey to be Better!
After my last post on self-immolation and street art, I saw this video of Shepard Fairey. What a respectable man. Street art with social/political meaning has the potential to play such a crucial role in enlightening the every-day man and catalyzing mass change. Admittedly, it was not love-at-first-sight thing when I first saw Fairey's stuff. He is undoubtedly talented but it was simply a matter of personal preference. That's the beauty of art though, it touches everyone in a different way. But the more of Fairey's work I see, the more I learn about what his intentions are, and the more I see him grow as an artist, the more respect I gain for him and his work. Plus there's nothing more sexy than a man who can maintain an intelligent conversation. He is unquestionably intelligent and inspiring.
Was going to do a black and white stencil of Aung San Suu Kyi with her quote 'Use your freedom to fight for ours' but Fairey beat me to it, and did it ten times better:
Coincidentally I also learned about Aung San Suu Kyi and the military junta in Burma in the same class that I learned about the self immolations in my last post.
Watch the video too:
Shepard Fairey - Obey to be Better! from Gestalten on Vimeo.
Self-Immolation and Street Art
During one of my lectures on Vietnam last semester we learned about Buddhist monks who set themselves on fire on June 11, 1963 to protest the discriminatory treatment against Buddhists under the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem, a Roman Catholic. The dramatic event was captured by international media and finally forced the world to look at the policies and practices of the Diem regime.
Award winning photograph by journalist Malcolm Browne
'Self immolation is a suicide committed for political or moral reasons as a form of protest, often by fire.'
Self immolation dates back to the late fourth century, 'But no matter how old, self-immolation still leaves people horrified, riveted and moved' (CNN). Since the event that took place in Vietnam, acts of self-immolation have occured in the US, Iran, Czechoslovakia, Chile, China, North Africa, each representing a different but equally important cause. As horrific as the act by itself is, what it stands for, what it represents, and the determination for change exhibited, forces us to look in a mirror and ask ourselves what we are fighting for in our own lives.
In 2008 anti-Olympic graffiti appeared on the streets of Bangkok depicting self-immolation. Street art by nature is a political statement since it defies property rights and spits in the face of the system that tells us what we can and can't do. But I have a huge admiration for street art that has political meaning or controversy, pieces that make us think and reflect on our society.
Note the Bob Marley quote...quite fitting actually.
Thursday Throwback Tune: Matisyahu
For the unfortunate souls whose ears have not been blessed with the goodness that is MATISYAHU:
'Matisyahu fuses the contemporary styles of rap, beatboxing, and hip-hop in general, with the more traditional vocal disciplines of jazz's scat singing and Judaism's hazzan style of songful prayer—more often than not rolling it all into a dominant background of reggae music' - Wikipedia
Matisyahu has been for a while now but it popped up on my iPod after not hearing it for a while...almost forgot how good they were. So here's to a thursday throwback tune:
mnmlist.com
What is mnmlist.com? (taken directly from site)
It’s a site by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.
It’s about minimalism, and why it’s important today.
It’s about stuff, and how it has come to overwhelm us.
It’s about distractions and commitments and a neverending task list.
It’s about the culture of more, of bigger, of consumption.
It’s about how less is the answer.
Here is a recent post by Leo:
Fear stops us from being minimalists.
Why do we keep things even if we don’t need or use them? Because we’re afraid we might. Afraid of what could happen if we get rid of those things.
For years I had a car because I worried about emergencies and not being able to do the things I wanted or needed to do. Then I discovered that I could do everything I need and more without a car. And that 911 is better in real emergencies.
This winter in San Francisco it was shockingly cold for an island native like me. I bought much more stuff than I’ve had in awhile (almost all from thrift shops) because I don’t know how to live in cold weather. The uncertainty of what I don’t know caused me to allay those fears with more possessions.
First: as we get to know something better we become more confident that we don’t need as much as we once thought we did. As I learn about living in cold I begin to realize that a few smart items are all I need. As I learn about traveling I learn I need almost nothing. As I learn about blogging I learn I don’t need ads or stats trackers or comments or widgets or Facebook buttons.
Second: fear can be conquered through small tests. Try going without something for just a little while (a day or a week) and see what happens. You’ll find that fears are not as justified as we thought.
Third: sometimes being naked with fear is a good experience. It teaches us a lot about ourselves and about life. It is scary but it awakens us. Live with the fear and without the safety net and see what it’s like to be alive and uninsulated.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Animal of the week: Grey Shrike
'Fiera' in spanish means wild beast. In honor of this and my love for animals, I'm going to do an animal of the week...as if my blog isn't random enough. I have a things for weird animal quirks.
'Butcher at work: The great grey shrike finds it easier to dismember its prey, a mouse, when it has impaled it on a thorn. Sometimes prey is left on the thorn as larder.'
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